Meet Phil Pallen

Who are you and what do you do?My name is Phil Pallen and I make a living on the Internet. I design brands and manage social media for high profile clients throughout North America. I also have a background in television, hosting and producing content that focuses on entertainment, new media and technology.

Where are you from?I am originally from a small town near Toronto, Canada, but I am now based in Los Angeles.

What do you like about social media?I am social human being. Social media is about being social, but it meshes technology, which is one of my greatest passions. I love the community that you can build on the Internet, and I have a lot of fun figuring out new ways to promote my clients. The social media age is still very new and there are essentially no rules. I like being on the frontier of it all.

What is the most important lesson you have learned regarding new media?I was young was when I first started working in traditional media (television), and I’ve quickly had to adjust my own thinking, as well as my clients’. Traditional marketing doesn’t work in the social media landscape. That makes it a challenge. You can’t pitch products so obviously now because we’ve learned to ignore it. The only thing that sells today is brand loyalty and authenticity. It’s possible to build trust with “fans” through social media. That should be the priority. Traditional media won’t survive the new paradigm without this mentality.

What kind of advice would you offer someone trying to pursue social media as a profession?Your own brand has to be solid before you even think about handling someone else’s. Also, don’t tell people you’re a social media expert unless you can seriously back it up. Everything on the Internet is transparent, so people are going to decide for themselves whether you’re an expert. Be passionate about social media and spend a good portion of your day reading, researching, blogging, surfing and absorbing as much information as you can. Let your personal brand be a model for what you can do for your clients. If you can do that successfully, clients will come to you. That’s a pretty sweet arrangement.